Adjustable mantel



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1,

E. B. BENBOW. ADJUSTABLE MANTEL.

No. 482,333. Patented Sept. 13, 1892.

(No llddel.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. B. BENBOW.

ADJUSTABLE MANTEL.

Patented Sept. 13, 1892. v

HI "I U mii i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIJAH B. BENBOWV, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ADJUSTABLE MANTEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,333, dated September 13, 1892.

Application filed October 2, 1891. Serial No. 407,535. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIJAH B. BENBOW, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Mantels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in adjustable mantels, the invention being particularl y applicable to mantels made of wood, and its object being to provide at moderate cost a simply and durably constructed mantel made up of parts so formed and put together as to be susceptible of ready adjustment as to width, so that the same mantel may by slight changes be made to fit a chimneybreast of any ordinary width. Chimneybreasts may of course be of any desired width; but in dwelling houses in which stock mantels are usually set the breasts are rarely less than four feet six inches wide or more than five feet six inches.

In the drawings forming part of this application I show a mantel drawn to a scale and, as shown, adapted to be fitted to a chimney-breast of any width within the limits mentioned, and the manner in which this adj ustment is provided for is illustrated in said drawings and described herein.

In the drawings referred to, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a mantel embodying my improvements, the mantel being set against a chimneybreast and parts being broken away to show the form of other underlying parts. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the mantel through the line c 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the line y y, Fig. 1, certain parts being shown in top plan. Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through the line z 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the line m m, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through the line y y, Fig. 1;

- and Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through the line m m, Fig. 1.

Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 illustrate the relative positions of various parts of the mantel when so assembled as to give the mantel its greatest possible width, and Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate the relations of the parts when so adjusted as to give the mantel its least width.

In the views, A is the face of a wall of ordinary construction, and A is the chimneybreast, of any desired width and having any desired projection from the face of the wall.

Theusual fireplace-opening is formed in the central lower portion of the breast and has above it and on both sides of it a projecting supplemental wall a, of brick or other mason work, adapted and intended to receive the projecting central frame of the mantel, and also to form a backing for suitable ornamental tiling T, which is fastened to the brickwork and forms a border for the fireplaceopening, the inner margin of the tiling being ordinarily finished by a metal frame T of any suitable design. The central frame of the mantel just referred to consists of two jambs B, of such width as to project slightlyin front of the tiling and to extend back almost to the face of the chimney-breast, a mantelshelf C resting on the jambs and projectinga suitable distance in front of the front edges thereof and a vertical facing D D fastened to the jambs and the mantel-shelf and overlapping the outer edges of the tilingat the top and sides of the fireplace-opening. This central frame incloses the supplemental brickwork a and forms the central and non-adjustable portion of the mantel. It needs no adjustment, since mantels of every design are usually built to receivesome definite number of square tiles and are designated in the trade as to size in accordance with the number of tiles they are so made to receive. Thus, for instance, the mantel shown in Fig. 1 is represented as accommodating a fireplaceborder of seventeen tiles and would be spoken of in the trade as a mantel having a seventeen-tile opening.

Immediately over the center of the central frame thus described and securely fastened to it is what is called the over-mantel, which is made up of two jambs or brackets E, a shelf C, joining the jambs, and a suitable facing lying within the rectangle thus formed, this facing being ordinarily made up of a frame F and a central panel G, lying within the frame and formed of wood or, as shown in the drawings, of plate-glass. The shelf C extends back to the face of the chimney-breast and is usually surmounted by a paper-rail f, resting on the shelf and against the chimneybreast. With the exception of the shelf C and the paper-rail f all the parts of the central frame. and the over-mantel are separated from the face of the chimney-breast by a space sufficient to receive a back made up of two parts H H, the outer edge of each of the parts H H being, preferably, a vertical straight line and theinneredgebeingcutaway,asindicated in Fig. 1, so as to conform substantially to the outline of the central mantel-frame and overmantel. In other words, the inner edge of each of the back pieces H H is of such outline that when adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 1 it lies immediately back of the corresponding jamb B of the central mantelframe, the corresponding jamb E of the overmantel, and the mantel-shelf 0. Before the finished mantel is shippedfrom the place of manufacture the back pieces HH are secured in place in the positions indicated in Fig. 1 by screwing the inner edges of the back pieces to the rear edges of the central mantel-frame and over-mantel, and in the mantel shown 1n Figs. 1 to 5 the back pieces are fastened in place in the manner described, the width of the back from outside to outside of the two back pieces, according to the scale of the drawings, being four feet and ten inches. At each side of the back thus formed is placed a supplemental strip or wall-plate I, which,

according to the scale of the drawings, is three inches Wide and separated from the corresponding back piece by a space of an inch, this space being covered by a pilaster K, fastened to the wall-plate I and back piece H by screws inserted from the back. The wallplates I and pilasters K extend upward from the bottom of the mantel to a point about midway between the mantel-shelf and the shelf 0' of the over-mantel, and immediately above each wall-plate and pilaster is a short shelf 0 fastened to the corresponding back piece H and covering the upper ends of the corresponding wall-plate and pilaster. Each of the shelves 0 is preferably of such length as to reach from the corresponding jamb of the over-mantel to the corresponding edge of the chimney-breast when the mantel is extended, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3; but when the mantel is adjusted to its narrowest limit, as shown in Figs.6 and 7, each of the shelves may project outward beyond the chimneybreast at one end and inward beyond the jamb of the over-mantel at the other end, the inner rear corner of each of the shelves being formed with a notch n,Fig. 3, to permit inward movement of the shelf.

In practice I send out the mantel set up, as shown in Figs. 1 to 5, except that the wallplates I and pilasters K are not fastened in position, the mantel thus put together being, according to the scale of the drawings, four feet ten inches wide. Of course if it be desired to place this mantel in position on a breast of exactly the same width no adjustment of the parts of the mantel is required, but it may be simply fastened in place in the manner common in setting such mantels. If

the breast be narrower than the width of the back of the mantel, its width may be lessened by unscrewing the back pieces H H and moving them inward equal distances until the back is of proper width, when the back pieces are secured in place by screwing them to the rear edges of the jambs B E and mantel-shelf O, as hereinbefore described. The limit of adjustment of each of the back pieces H as I have made them in practice and as theyare shown in the drawings is two inches, and if the back pieces be moved inward to the position shown in Figs. 6 and '7 the entire back will have a width of four feet six inches. When the back pieces are thus adjusted, the inner edge of each of the back pieces will project inward beyond the corresponding up per and lower jambs E B, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively. This projection of the inner edge of the upper part of each of the back pieces is immaterial and may in all cases be allowed to remain, as it can cause no inconvenience. The projection of the inner edge of the lower part of each back piece beyond the jamb B, as shown in Fig. 7, will extend behind the supplemental brickwork a at the side of the fireplace-opening and form an anchor, preventing the removalof the mantel,

and as this may be objectionable I have found 'it preferable in practice to kerf the projecting inches is accomplished by means of the addition of the wall-plates and the covering of the joint between the wall-plates and the back 1 pieces with the pilasters K.

The manner in which this additional width may be secured .is so evident that it need not be described in detail, and I think it is sufficiently clear from theforegoing description and explanation that 1 by utilizing the adjustment of the back pieces,

in combination with the wall-plates and pilasters, any width between the limits mentioned may be secured.

By means of the invention thus set forth and described a mantel of any given design may be put in place by any ordinary mechanic upon a chimney-breast having any width within the limits of adjustment of the mantel, and when the mantel is in place it will be in every way as symmetrical in outline and as perfect in finish as if it had been specially built for the situation in which it is used. This is a material advantage in constructions of this class, and it is attained without the sacrifice of beauty of proportion or perfection of finish and without any addition to the cost of the mantel itself or any material increase of the labor of putting it in place.

IIC

Having now described and explained my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an adjustable mantel, the combination, with a central frame having a fireplaceopening and an over-mantel above the central frame, of separate back pieces having inner edges'adapted to lie behind the outer edges of the central frame and over-mantel and to be symmetrically adjusted with reference to the central line of the mantel and to be fastened to said central frame and overmantel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the central frame made up of the jambs B B, mantel-shelf C, and facing D D, of the over-mantel above the central frame, having jambs E E, and the back pieces H H, having inner edges conforming substantially to the outline of the central frame and over-mantel, said back pieces being adapted to be symmetrically adjnsted with reference to the central frame and over-mantel and to be secured to the rear edges of the jambs B B E E and mantel-shelf O, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an adjustable mantel, the combination, with a central frame having a fireplaceopening and an over-mantel resting on the frame, of back pieces Whose inner edges lie behind the central frame and over-mantel and are fastened thereto, Wall-plates lying in the plane of the back pieces and beside the outer edges thereof, and pilasters covering the space between said wall-plates and back pieces, substantially as shown and described.

i In an adjustablemantel, the comb1nation, with a central frame having a fireplaceopening, an over-mantel resting on the central frame, back pieces having their inner edges behind and fastened to the outer edges of the central frame and over-mantel, Wall-plates lying in the plane of the back pieces and beside the outer edges thereof, and pilasters covering the spaces between said Wall-plates and back pieces and permitting necessary variation of said spaces, of shelves fastened to said back pieces and covering the upper ends of said Wall-plates and pilasters, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with the central frame and over-mantel, of the back pieces H H, the wall-plates I I, the pilasters K K, and the shelves 0 C fastened to the back pieces and covering the upper ends of the wall-plates n I ELIJAH B. BENBOW. Witnesses:

O. P. SMITH, CHARLES O. SHERVEY. 

